Tech

Don't buy these Apple products: February 2020 edition

Read before spending your money!

Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor Feb. 7, 2020 at 2:01 a.m. PT

Apple has updated a whole swathe of products in its store over the past few months, but there are still plenty of shiny gadgets that are a bit old and aging that you should avoid.

Must read: Speed up your iPhone by clearing the RAM

MacBook Pro

What you should know: While Apple has released the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, with a number of improvements including yet another redesigned keyboard, it's little brother, the 13-inch model didn't get a similar revamp. This means that the 13-inch MacBook Pro, updated May/July 2019, are running older hardware.

Keep this in mind if you are planning a purchase.

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Hardware last updated: The 13-inch MacBook Pro was updated May and July 2019.

Apple TV fifth-gen

Guidance: Probably not going to see a refresh this year, so it's worth it if you feel like paying top dollar for last year's tech.

Apple's 5th-generation Apple TV, built around the A10X Fusion processor and coming with a choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage, was last updated over a year ago. It's still a great device, but the starting price of $179 feels hefty for something over a year old.

Don't be confused between this and the 4th-generation Apple TV (without the 4K branding) which is also still for sale. This was first released in October 2015.

Hardware last updated: The 5th-generation Apple TV 4K was launched in September 2017.

20-pin USB-C magnetic breakaway connector

iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch

Why you should avoid: The current iPad Pro line was updated a year ago, and a year is a long time in technology. What's worse is that the memory management in iOS 13 has made multitasking on this supposed laptop replacement frustrating and annoying.

Hardware last updated: October 2018.

HomePod

Why you should avoid: The current HomePod is a first-generation device that was released over 18 months ago to offer a challenge to devices such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home speaker. But a year-and-a-half in the tech industry is a long time, and so it might be worthwhile holding out on buying one until we get a clearer idea of whether Apple is planning a refresh.

Hardware last updated: February 2018.

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Mac Mini

Guidance: Getting old, but a unique Mac that's super useful and affordable.

The last Mac Mini was four years in the making, so we could be having to wait three more years until we see the next Mac Mini update. However, the Mac Mini is unique in the macOS ecosystem in that it is a gateway system into the macOS ecosystem for people currently on Windows. It's also a low-cost way to get a macOS workhorse for those times when another beefier system would be overkill.

Hardware last updated: July 2019.

Apple Lightning cable

Why you should avoid: Buy something cheaper that will last you longer!

I would never buy another Lightning cable from Apple, as there are far better alternatives on offer from companies such as Anker, Amazon, Nomad, and Paracable.

But what about USB-C-to-Lightning I hear you ask? Well, for the first time you have an option outside of Apple now that Anker has released its Powerline II USB-C-to-Lightning cable, which is fully compliant with Apple's Made For iPhone (MFi) standard.

Status: Too expensive!